Decaf Coffee Good For Diabetes Prevention

Category: Diet and Nutrition

Coffee consumption has been receiving popular press lately, with new studies showing a reduced risk of various chronic illnesses, and even being referred to as the new health food. Now the latest study shows that decaffeinated coffee is linked to reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. An article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in late June indicates coffee could become part of the standard diet and exercise recommendations for diabetes. Although prior research has indicated that coffee drinkers may reap this benefit, uncertainty existed around which components in coffee were responsible for this trend, specifically caffeine.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota used data from the more than 28,000 women enrolled in the long term Iowa Women's Health Study, who were free of both heart disease and diabetes at the beginning. By the end of the eleven year study, over 1400 women had been diagnosed with diabetes. Groups were divided according to coffee consumption: none, less than 1 cup, 1-3 cups, 4-5 cups and more than 6 cups. The results showed that the highest coffee consumption was associated with a 22% lower chance of being diagnosed with diabetes, when compared to women who drank no coffee. Most significant though was the fact that most of this trend was accounted for by decaffeinated coffee. As well, the association held true for all age groups and body weights (findings that had not been revealed in prior work).

Still researchers have not identified which components of coffee are responsible for the reduction in diabetes risk. However, from this study they know caffeine, magnesium and phytate are not accountable for the trend. Future studies are directed at identifying the mechanism of action for coffee in diabetes prevention.

Posted by Dr. Jennifer Stagg on January 7, 2014 10:00 AM